-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- He 's won six medals in the Winter Olympics , including a gold in 2008 , and a bronze just a few months ago in Sochi . Bode Miller 's methods , however , have never been orthodox .

`` I never really worked very goal-oriented , '' he admits . `` I think I 've had some great results and I 've had a long career , so , I mean , I 'm happy about that . But I did n't really ever have goals , the way that most people did . ''

Miller has always intrigued media and fans alike . An unconventional upbringing in a New Hampshire log cabin with no electricity or running water gave way to a skiing career in which , for Miller , his natural talent and love of the sport always won out over , well , winning .

Indeed , his goal , as stated in his book `` Bode : Go fast , Be Good , Have Fun '' was to ski `` as fast as the natural universe would allow . ''

Back home after an emotional Olympics in Sochi , where Miller cried during a live interview with NBC 's Christin Cooper when asked about the recent death of his brother , Miller is focusing on another project : his Turtle Ridge Foundation .

Miller began the foundation after close friend Cameron Shaw-Doran suffered a traumatic injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down .

`` I was trying to help him get re-involved in sports . He was a great athlete before his injury and was really having a hard time sort of adapting , which is a really tough process when you 're injured like that , '' says Miller . `` Just to watch him go through that I saw how hard it was and how little support there was for him . ''

The experience motivated Miller to find ways to help get disabled and injured athletes more involved in sports . `` We provide the sporting equipment for them and the environment that allows them to participate in whatever sport that is , '' Miller explains .

Shaw-Doran serves as director of equipment development for Turtle Ridge , and Miller has called on friends and associates from across the sporting world to create and adapt equipment to help adaptive skiers and adaptive athletes in other sports .

A major annual event for Turtle Ridge is Bodefest , an all-day ski and barbecue extravaganza on Miller 's home turf of Cannon Mountain , New Hampshire , complete with autographs , an auction and a chance for children to race their idol .

Watching Miller hurtle down the mountain , swarmed by a speeding army of tiny `` Bodephiles , '' it 's a wonder and a testament to his skills that the whole thing does n't end in a giant human snowball .

`` All the kids want to try and get on the lift with me for at least one run and there 's 400 kids or so . It turns into a bit of pandemonium on the way down , '' Miller says .

Not only is Bodefest a fundraiser , but it 's also an opportunity for adaptive athletes to try some of the new equipment on the late-season snow .

`` The program 's really just changed my life , '' says adaptive skier Owen Anketell , who has a condition that affects the muscles in his lower legs . `` I never thought that I 'd be able to ski even though I 'm in a wheelchair -- or bike -- but this program 's really changed my opinion on adaptive sports . ''

`` The key is empowering , '' says Miller . `` When we build some of our ski equipment and you give it to a kid who never had the chance to go up and experience what it is to ski down a giant mountain and you watch how life-changing that can be for them , I think it 's really -- it 's pretty incredible . ''

The sentiment seems to fit with Miller 's general philosophy of focusing on how the sport makes you feel , rather than the end game , a feeling he believes everyone is entitled to , regardless of ability .

It may not be competition , but it is a goal he can take into retirement -- and still win .

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Bode Miller started the Turtle Ridge Foundation after a close friend was paralyzed

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Turtle Ridge helps disabled and injured athletes take part in sports

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Bodefest is their annual fundraiser , where kids get to race Miller